Aspects of an XRF analyzer can include (1) shielding a hand of a user from x-rays (emitted from an x-ray source in the analyzer or fluoresced from a sample); (2) removing heat from an x-ray detector, an x-ray source, or both in the XRF analyzer; and (3) thermally separating the x-ray detector from the x-ray source in order to avoid heat from the x-ray source adversely affecting resolution of the x-ray detector. Information relevant to attempts to address these problems can be found in U.S. Patent Publication Number US 2013/0003923 and European Patent Number EP 1,686,369.